Means for folding in laundry operations



1965 o. J. EGGLETON 3, 70,

MEANS FOR FOLDING IN LAUNDRY OPERATIONS Filed Nov. 23, 1962 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor OSWALD J. EGGLETON A ltorn e yg Feb. 23, 1965 o.J. EGGLETON 3,170,534

MEANS FOR FOLDING IN LAUNDRY OPERATIONS Filed Nov. 23, 1962 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor OSWALD J. E-GGLE-TON Attorney Feb. 23, 1965 o.J. EGGLETON 3,170,684

MEANS FOR FOLDING IN LAUNDRY OPEBATIONS Filed Nov. 23, 1962 sSheets-Sheet a Inventor OSWALD II EGGLETON www Attorney;

United States Patent 3,176,684 MEANS FOR FOLDWG llN LAUNDRY OPERATIUNSOswald J. Eggleton, Ahhotsford, 125 Grudge Heath Lane,

Fareham, Hampshire, England Filed Nov. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 239,689 7Claims priority, application Great Britain, Feb. 2, 1962, 4,221/ 62 7Qlaims. (Cl. 27tl=62) This invention relates to methods andjmeans forfolding in laundry operation, more particularly to the foldingof sheetsor other articles after they have left an ironing machine or automaticfolden For th sake of convenience in description all articles requiringthe folding operations will be hereinafter referred to simply as sheets,

. since these are typical examples.

The purpose of an automatic sheet folder is to fold the sheet in alengthwise direction. After this has been done the sheet needs to befolded widthwise to reduce it to the proportions suitable for placing itin a packing rack in a regular style and leaving the laundry mark in aposition easily found by the packer. At the present time this widthwisefolding is done by hand. The operator takes one end of the sheet andthrows it over to the further end, thus making the first cross fold. Thedouble end is next thrown back, thus quartering the article. One or morefurther folds are then usually necessary. The laundry mark is usuallyhidden in one of the under folds and must be found before the sheet canbe sent to its correct destination in the packing room. The work istedious and tiring and production falls progressively during the latterpart of a day. l

The object of this invention is therefore to provide both a method and ameans for effecting this widthwise folding operation which will relievethe operator of fatigue and perform the work either semi-automaticallyor fully automatically as may be desired.

' According to the present invention the sheet is rolled up into aspiral form having a suitable number of c0nvolutions of which theinnermost has a diameter approximating to the width of the folded sheetdesired, and when the whole article is thus in the spiral form it iswithdrawn from its winding means and allowed to collapse, whereupon itsubsides naturally into a flat and regularly shaped package of thedesired proportions.

According to another aspect of the invention'an apparatus for foldingsheets comprises means for engaging a leading edge of the sheet, rollermeans arranged to draw the sheet round it and wind it up into a spiralform, and releasing means enabling the sheet to be withdrawn from theroller means in a direction approximately in the line of the axis ofrotation.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate by Way of example a convenient form of machineaccording to the invention.

FIGURE 1 is an elevation on line I-I of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 2 is a plan on line Ill-11 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an elevation on line Ill-1H of FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a detail elevation of a withdrawing mechanism.

A frame lib is provided carrying a driving unit 11 comprising anelectric motor and reduction gearing. This driving unit operates a chain12 and sprockets 13 by which a shaft 14 carried in bearings 15 isrotated. On the shaft 14, freely rotatable but provided with a brakingpad to hold it steady and offer a slight resistance to rotation is ahollow cylindrical drum 2%) formed with an opening extending its fullength where the cylindrical surface of the drum is cut away and foldedradially inwards, the cut away portion thus forming a V-notch or recess21; this is of any convenient size, possibly about equal to the radiusof the drum in depth. Into this recess 21 the leading edge of the sheet,indicated at S, can be fed. Concentrically Within this hollow drum 2%there is a roller 25 fixed on the shaft 14-, and this roller also has aV-notch or recess 26 cut in it corresponding in dimensions approximatelywith the one 21 in the outer drum 29. The inner roller 25, being smallerin diameter than the outer drum 24 can move freely inside, across thearc of the V-notch 21 in the I outer drum. The roller 25 can thus trapthe leading edge reached a stop 27 along the inside of the outer drum.

Feeding of the sheet into the V-notch 21 is efiected by drawing thesheet off (forvinstance) the take-off table of an ironing machine on toa horizontal conveyor 39 comprising a number of endless bands supportedon rollers 31 and operated by a V-belt drive 32 from the main shaft 14.The conveyor 3t? carries the sheet forward and as itis about to leavethe conveyor 3h it rides under and lifts a floating roller 33 or anyother similar timing device. The roller 33 is thereby caused to operatea micro-switch 34 which energises a solenoid valve unit 35, and this inturn admits air under pressure to the face of a piston 36 working in acylinder $7. The piston 36 is thus operated and its rod passes over aone-way trip device 38 on a microswtich 39 inoperatively. The piston rodcontinuing its stroke eventually makes contact with a furthermicroswitch 40. The speed of the piston 36 is regulated by .means of acontrol valve 41 governing the air pressure applied to it and a delay iscontrived while the leading edge of the sheet travels over a downwardlyinclined guide plat 42 and enters the V-notch 21; not until this hasbeen achieved does the operation of the micro-switch 4d energise anothersolenoid valve unit 44. The effect of this is to admit air pressuresimultaneously to two cylinders l5 and 46. The cylinder 45 operates apad 16 acting on a brake rim 17 carried by or forming part of the outerdrum 2d, thereby causing a resistance to the rotary movement of thedrum. The cylinder 46 exerts pressure on a lever 48 which through afulcrum 4-9 acts on a thrust collar 5% which is thereby moved to engagethe component parts 51 of a clutch mounted on th shaft id, so thatthereby the drive to the inner roller 25 is taken up. The V-notch in theroller thus nips the leading edge of the sheet between the outer edgesof the roller and the drum 2% and the drive continues to wind the sheetaround th drum until the trailing edge of the sheet has passed fromunder the floating roller 33, which then drops, opening thecircuit inthe micro-switch 34. This reverses the solenoid valve 35 which in turnreverses the piston 36 in the cylinder 3? and opens the circuit in themicro switch 4%), reversing the solenoid valve 44, and consequentlyreversing the travel of the pistons in cylinders 45, 4d. The brake pad16 is thereupon withdrawn from the brake rim 1'7 and the clutch 51 isdisconnected. This leaves the drum androller assembly revolving by itsown momentum and as it is desired to get the trailing edge of the sheetinto a given position the momentum is allowed to cary the drum 2d androller 25 appropriately to a position which is timed according to thespeed with which the piston 36 is reversed under the control of thevalve 52. Having achieved the desired delay the piston rod actuates theone-way trip device 38 and micro-switch 3h, and closes the associatedcircuit and energises a further solenoid valve assembly $33 which admitsair under pressure to a further cylinder 54. This governs the means forwithdrawing the sheet from the drum, which comprises an annular plateclosely encircling the drum 2d and connected to a piston rod 55 from apiston 56 working in the cylinder 54 so that when the cylinder 54- ispressurised the piston forces the annular plate 57 along guide rods 53so that it slides along the drum 20 and pushes the sheet off it on tothe table or conveyor alongside the delivery end of the drum. Onreaching th end of its stroke the plate 57 contacts a micro-switch 59which reverses the solenoid valve 53 and returns the plate 57 to itsoriginal position. The drum 20 and roller 25 come to rest in theirproper positions due to the out of balance effect of the V-notches 21.26.

The linear speed of the conveyor 30 is slightly greater than theperipheral speed of the drum 20 in order to avoid tightness in the sheetbeing wound; with each revolution of the drum the circumferenceincreases and must be allowed for to obtain the correct tension on thesheet. Sheets of difierent width can be dealt with and all will beformed into packages of similar width, the difference being merely inthe different number of convolutions in rolling up. The power requiredto drive the machine is small and friction type gearing can convenientlybe used, if preferred. Fully automatic operation from a conveyor 30 asdescribed is not essential. Semi-automatic operation can be obtained inwhich the operator will feed the sheet manually into the V-notch andthen initiate the cycle of operations.

It will be seen that the method of rolling up a sheet or other articlespirally and then allowing it to collapse to a folded form produces thedesired results with a great economy in effort and in a Way which willgive packages of similar size with laundry marks in uniform and easilyvisible positions.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for folding articles such as sheets comprising a frame, ashaft mounted in the frame, driving means for rotating the shaft, ahollow cylindrical drum freely rotatable on the shaft, a brake deviceengaging with the drum, a roller fixed on the shaft and located withinthe drum, a V-shaped recess in the circumference of the drum spacedaxially from said brake device and another V- shaped recess in theroller registrable with the recess in the drum, a stop associated withthe drum serving to limit the amount of relative movement made by theroller before drum and roller are rotated in unison, a flat supportmember adjacent and below said drum, an axially movable annular membercapable of stripping wound material from the drum and delivering it tothe support member, aconveyor mounted in the frame, drive means for theconveyor, said conveyor being adapted to feed an article to the drum sothat a leading edge of the article can be trapped between the V-shapedrecesses, a displaceable member in the path of the article being so fed,a pressure system, means actuated by the displaceable member forenergising said pressure system, said pressure system including valvemeans and pressure cylinders eifective to sequentially drive the roller,trap the article, and wind the article around the drum, as well as applythe braking device to the drum, the release of the displaceabl memberwhen the article has cleared it serving to release the rake device,disconnect the drive to the roller, and move the annular member to stripand deliver the article.

2. Apparatus for folding flexible sheet material, comprising a frame, adrive shaft, a cylindrical drum mounted to rotate freely on the driveshaft, a cylindrical roller within the drum fixed to said drive shaft, aflat support surface adjacent one end of the drum and a pair oflongitudinal registering recesses in the circumference of the drum andthe roller, means for rotating the drive shaft and the roller, a stopinside said drum adjacent its recess and engageable by the wall of therecess of said roller during rotation thereof whereby to drive the drumand to trap a leading edge of the material between the recesses in thedrum and roller and to cause the material to be wound round the drum,and means for withdrawing the wound material in the direction axially ofthe drum to deliver the wound material to said support surface wherebythe withdrawn material will collapse and fold.

3. Apparatus for folding flexible, fabric, sheet material, comprising aframe, a drive shaft, a pair of coaxial cylindrical members one withinthe other, a pair of longitudinal registering recesses in thecircumferences of the cylindrical members, one of said cylindricalmembers being fixed to said drive shaft to rotate therewith, the otherof said cylindrical members being freely rotatable on said drive shaft,a stop inside said freely rotatable cylindrical member engageable by awall portion of the recess of the driven cylindrical member to impartdrive to the freely rotatable member, to trap a leading edge of thematerial between said pair of recesses and to cause the material to bewound around one of said cylindrical members, and means for removingWound material from said cylindrical members in a direction axiallythereof and simultaneously deliver the wound material to a fiatsupporting surface, whereby the withdrawn material will collapse andfold.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said means for withdrawingthe wound material includes an annular member encircling the drum, saiddrum and annular member being movable axially with respect to oneanother along the drum, said annular member acting thereby to push thewound material off the drum. 1

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 having a brake device associated withthe drum at an area spaced axially from said recess, and means connectedwith the brake device for applying it so as to offer resistance torotation during the winding-on of the article.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 including means for feeding materialto the drum, a displaceable member situated in the path of the materialbeing so fed to the drum, and means actuated by the displaceable memberfor initiating an automatic cycle of operations which includes thewinding of the article around the drum and its subsequent withdrawal anddelivery to the support surface.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein said means activated by thedisplaceable member includes a pressure system, valve means and pressurecylinders connected to sequentially effect the trapping, winding on, andsubsequent withdrawal from the drum and delivery to the support of thewound material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 577,418 2/97Carter 53-1l9 2,000,062 5/35 Couch 27062 2,620,609 12/52 Pope 53-1 192,991,071 7/61 Hilliker 27068 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM B. PENN, Examiner.

1. APPARATUS FOR FOLDING ARTICLES SUCH AS SHEETS COMPRISING A FRAME, ASHAFT MOUNTED IN THE FRAME, DRIVING MEANS FOR ROTATING THE SHAFT, AHOLLOW CYLINDRICAL DRUM FREELY ROTATABLE ON THE SHAFT, A BRAKE DEVICEENGAGING WITH THE DRUM, A ROLLER FIXED ON THE SHAFT AND LOCATED WITHINTHE DRUM, A V-SHAPED RECESS IN THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE DRUM SPACEDAXIALLY FROM SAID BRAKE DEVICE AND ANOTHER VSHAPED RECESS IN THE ROLLERREGISTRABLE WITH THE RECESS IN THE DRUM, A STOP ASSOCIATED WITH THE DRUMSERVING TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF RELATIVE MOVEMENT MADE BY THE ROLLERBEFORE DRUM AND ROLLER ARE ROTATED IN UNISON, A FLAT SUPPORT MEMBERADJACENT AND BELOW SAID DRUM, AN AXIALLY MOVABLE ANNULAR MEMBER CAPABLEOF STRIPPING WOUND MATERIAL FROM THE DRUM AND DELIVERING IT TO THESUPPORT MEMBER, A CONVEYOR MOUNTED IN THE FRAME, DRIVE MEANS FOR THECONVEYOR, SAID CONVEYOR BEING ADAPTED TO FEED AN ARTICLE TO THE DRUM SOTHAT A LEADING EDGE OF THE ARTICLE CAN BE TRAPPED BETWEEN THE V-SHAPEDRECESSES, A DISPLACEABLE MEMBER IN THE PATH OF THE ARTICLE BEING SO FED,A PRESSURE SYSTEM, MEANS ACTUATED BY THE DISPLACEABLE MEMBER FORENERGISING SAID PRESSURE SYSTEM, SAID PRESSURE SYSTEM INCLUDING VALVEMEANS AND PRESSURE CYLINDERS EFFECTIVE TO